


When I See You Again

by wackozone



Category: MDZS, Mo Dao Zu Shi
Genre: Age alternation, Bad at titles, F/M, Junior trio?, Lan boys are best bros, Lazy Author, M/M, WangXian, bad at writing, how about junior quartet, i don’t know what i’m doing, it’s actually really easy, random work, there’s a kid, try my best, wait to find out, who’s the father?!, zhuiling if you squint really hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:41:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22258873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wackozone/pseuds/wackozone
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

“Yiling Laozhu is back!”

“Yiling Laozhu is alive!”

The city is in an uproar as the citizens shout about the return of Yiling Laozhu.

“Shijie, did you hear that? Yiling Laozhu is back!” The young man clad in red says excitedly.

“Do you think we’ll get to meet him?” The sister asks with more excitement than her brother. “Shidi. Let’s go tell the others about it!”

**********

The wind blows through the air, fluttering black hair and white ribbons. Petals of plum blossoms flitter through the air as a hand reach out to catch one.

_“Noise is forbidden in Cloud Recesses!” A young man shouts at the others who were being too loud due to the excitement of different clans gathering for the Cloud Recesses’ lecture._

_“But you’re the loudest one here.” A voice retorts._

_“Who are you?” The young man shouts turning to face a female clad in black clothes._

_“Shouldn’t you introduce yourself before asking for my name? Gusu Lan is known for their etiquette, are they not?” The female looks the young man up and down letting out a chuckle. “Is it a lie?”_

_“You—”_

_Another young man intercepts and gives the new arrivals a deep bow._

_“I am a disciple of the Lan clan of Gusu. My name is Lan Yuan. Courtesy name is Lan SiZhui.” SiZhui gives a quick look at his friend. “This is my friend Lan JingYi. Please don’t take offense to his personality. He can be a bit hot tempered.”_

_“Why are you apologizing to her?” JingYi shouts._

_“JingYi.” SiZhui whispers and turns back to the female with a smile. “May I know who you are?”_

_The female in black chuckles and gives a deep bow. “My name is Wei Hua. Courtesy name is Wei BaiYing. I am from the Li sect in Kunkiang. This is my shidi.”_

_A male dressed in red outer robes with black inner robes steps out from behind her giving them a deep bow. “My name is Li Ping, heir to Li clan in Kunkiang.” As the male stands up straight after his introduction, on the left side over his heart, an embroidered plum blossom can be seen._

“JingYi.” SiZhui’s voice calls out bringing him back to his senses.

“SiZhui.”

The said man turns to his side to reveal a citizen.

“This person has lived here his whole life. He says he knows what happened to the Li clan.”

The man gulps and clenches his fist together tightly. “The Li clan was such kind people, unfortunately they were wiped out a year ago.”

“What did you say?!” JingYi shouts grabbing the man by the collar.

“JingYi.” SiZhui pries JingYi’s hands off of the poor man. “What do you mean?” SiZhui asks.

“They were invaded and killed by another sect.”

“By who?! Why?!” JingYi shouts.

“I-I don’t know.” The man shakes his head.

“Why didn’t anyone help them?” SiZhui questions.

“We are normal people. How can we fight against cultivators?”

“The clans. Why didn’t anyone ask for help from the more powerful clans?” JingYi asks.

“A year ago was the return of Yiling Laozhu. Cultivators of Gusu Lan, Yunmeng Jiang, LanLing Jin, and Qinghe Nie—would they drop the fight against Yiling Laozhu, the biggest threat to cultivators, to come protect a small sect like KunKiang Li? Of course they wouldn’t.”

“Wei Hua. What about Wei Hua?” SiZhui asks.

“Wei Hua. Yes, I remember seeing Wei Hua flee the Li manor with Li Ping. I don’t know if she got very far because Li Ping was injured.”

SiZhui and JingYi lets out a sigh.

_Wei Hua. Will I get to see you again?_

**********

The voices of children’s laughter can be heard throughout the city.

In a busy tea shop two figures sat at a table leisurely enjoying their time together. A male clad in black is talking animatedly while the one in white listens with a calm expression.

“Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan. Are you listening to me?” The one in black asks with a pout.

“Mn.” The other responds making the one in black smile in delight. The happy male then took a gulp of the contents in his cup and looked outside at the kids who are playing without a care in the world. “Wei Ying, what’s wrong?”

The said man looks at his cup dejectedly. “I often think about how I didn’t get to raise A-Yuan. I mean, you did a great job raising him. SiZhui is very talented and well liked by others. I just...wanted to raise him too.”

“You’ll get another chance.”

“How? It’s been 10 years since my return. The children I raised are all grown up now.” Wei Wuxian pouts. “They go night hunting by themselves. I’m alone.”

“You have me.”

Wei Wuxian perks up. “I do, don’t I.” A smile is brought up on Wei Wuxian’s face again as he returns to watching the children play. To the side, a child in black clothes is swinging a wooden play sword alone as he murmurs to himself.

“Uphold the value of justice  
Shoulder the weight of morality  
Embrace the entirety of the world  
Perform acts of chivalry  
Have courage and knowledge  
Have courtesy and integrity  
Have affection and gratefulness”

Wei Wuxian chuckles in disbelief. “Lan Zhan. Am I drunk or is that child quoting Gusu Lan Sect’s rules?”

At his husband’s words, Lan Zhan focuses his attention to the child.

“Learning comes first  
Do not act impulsively  
Do not give up on learning  
Make sure to act virtuously  
Be careful with your words  
Be respectful and humble  
Be loyal and filial”

“Mn. Gusu Lan.” Lan Zhan nods in agreement.

“Interesting.” Wei Wuxian says putting his cup down and approaches the lone child. “Xiao-er. What’s your name?”

The child look up at Wei Wuxian with wide eyes and keeps silent before stating, “Mommy says not to talk to strangers.”

“I’m not a bad person. Look here!” Wei Wuxian pulls Lan Zhan to his side. “He is from the Gusu Lan sect. You were stating Gusu Lan sect rules, were you not?”

After a moment of silence, the child picks up his things and runs into the inn behind him.

“Eh? Come back! We’re not bad people!” Wei Wuxian shouts turning to face Lan Zhan with a pout. “Do I look like a bad person?”

“No.”

Wei Wuxian lets out a sigh and looks up to find the child looking down at them. He flinched upon noticing Wei Wuxian’s stare and closes the window with a loud thump.

“Stupid question—Lan Zhan, are there any recent Lan sect disciples that went rogue?”

“Rogue disciples will not use the Gusu Lan sect rules to discipline their child.”

“Right.” Wei Wuxian agrees. “I thought so.”

Later that night, after Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan comes back from night hunting, they enter the inn ready to book a room for the night.

“Eh, Lan Zhan, look. It’s the child.” The child who was quoting Gusu Lan sect’s rules earlier that day was watching a dog eat trash as his stomach growls in hunger.

“Xiao-er.” Wei Wuxian approaches the child again handing him a steamed bun. “Eat this.”

The child shakes his head silently.

“Do not be picky about food.” Lan Zhan says calmly. “Be grateful. Do not be wasteful. Appreciate the good people.”

The child stares at Lan Zhan in silence before giving in with a sigh and takes the bun from Wei Wuxian’s hand.

“Thank you.” He whispers.

“You’re welcome.” Wei Wuxian says with a big smile and crouches in front of the child.

“Xiao-er, what’s your name?”

“A-Yi.” The child replies nibbling on the bun.

Wei Wuxian smiles. “A-Yi. How old are you?”

“5.”

“A-Yi, where’s your mom?”

“Night hunting.” He replies nonchalantly.

Wei Wuxian looks at Lan Zhan before turning back to the child.

“Your mother went night hunting. Did she not leave you any food?”

“She did.” A-Yi nods. “But I’m waiting for her to come back so we can eat together.”

“How long was your mother gone?” The child slowly raises his fingers one a time and stops.

“Four days?!” Wei Wuxian shouts in surprise as A-Yi nods. “Are you sure you’re not abandoned?” Wei Wuxian adds in a small voice.

“You’re wrong! Mother would never abandon me!” A-Yi shouts in anger.

“Ok, ok. I’m sorry.” Wei Wuxian soothes the child. “If your mother went night hunting, did your father go too?”

“Mother says that father is from a prominent sect, so he doesn’t live with us.”

“This prominent sect is Gusu Lan, right?”

A-Yi doesn’t respond. Wei Wuxian takes a closer look at the child’s clothes and smiles brightly.

“You should come to Gusu Lan with us! Ok, it’s decided.” Without waiting for a reply, Wei Wuxian picks up the child and puts him on Lil’ Apple’s back. “Let’s go to Gusu!”


	2. Chapter 2

“Sizhui! Jingyi! My two favorite Lan members!” Wei Wuxian shouts, making Lan Zhan’s eye twitch.

“Noise is forbidden in Cloud Recesses. What?” Jingyi says all in one breath as Sizhui lightly elbows him.

“Wei qianbe.” Sizhui greets and gives Lan Zhan a quick once over. “Hanguang Jun.”

“Hanguang Jun.” Jingyi also greets the Lan man.

“Eh. How come you greet Lan Zhan and not me? I was here first.” Wei Wuxian pouts.

“Wei qianbe.” Jingyi finally greets after Wei Wuxian’s complaint, not wanting to get in trouble, especially when Hanguang Jun is around.

“What’s the matter Wei qianbe?” Sizhui asks.

“Hehehe.” Wei Wuxian chuckles mischievously. “As you two are my favorite,” Wei Wuxian says making Lan Zhan’s eyes twitch yet again, and this time Sizhui notices. “I’m asking you two to help me babysit a five year old child.”

“Hah?!” Jingyi shouts. “Why do we—”

“Noise is forbidden in Cloud Recesses.” A voice speaks up startling both Sizhui and Jingyi. They both avert their attention to a small child hiding behind Hanguang Jun’s leg that they did not notice before.

“As you can see. He’s a very interesting one.” Wei Wuxian says with a smile. 

“Where are his parents?” Jingyi asks.

“His mother is out night hunting.” Wei Wuxian replies.

“And his father?” Sizhui wonders.

“Mommy says that daddy is from a prominent sect, so he doesn’t live with us.” A-Yi states.

“And there you have it!” Wei Wuxian smiles brightly at the two younger Lan sect men.

“So, his mother is out night hunting and you decided to bring him back to Gusu? That’s kidnapping!” Jingyi shouts.

“Noise is forbidden in Cloud Recesses.” The child retorts stepping out from behind Hanguang Jun and Sizhui approaches him.

“We can’t keep him here.” Jingyi says.

“Jingyi. He is but a child. We can’t throw him out.” Sizhui argues.

“What if his mom comes back to find him missing? He has to leave.” 

“J-Jingyi.” Sizhui stutters out. “Look at his clothes carefully.”

“What’s there to look at?” Jingyi says with a roll of his eyes. “No matter what his clothes look like, he can’t stay...here.” Jingyi’s eyes widen as he looks at the embroidery of the Gusu Lan sect’s clouds woven onto the child’s black robes. The child’s clothes are exactly like Gusu Lan’s, but in black!

“Help the underprivileged

Win friendships with kindness

Be just

Be generous

Be ethical

Be grateful

Be loyal”

“Rules of Gusu Lan...” Jingyi trails off.

Jingyi and Sizhui look at each other with wide eyes in shock.

“See? Interesting, right?” Wei Wuxian chuckles.

“W-Wei qianbe. Does this mean that...this child’s father...is someone in Gusu Lan?” Sizhui asks.

Wei Wuxian laughs. “Correct. See? I didn’t kidnap him. I’m simply helping him find his father. Eh, A-Yi. Do you want to play with Xian gege?”

_‘Play?’_ Sizhui thinks back to his childhood memories of being buried in carrot fields, hanging out in the sun on tree branches, and being buried in a pile of rabbits. 

“No!” Sizhui shouts and clears his throat embarrassed at his own outburst. “I mean, I will take care of him. I’m sure that Wei qianbe and Hanguang Jun are both busy and have better things to do. A-Yi, is your name, right? Do you want to play with Sizhui gege?”

The child smiles brightly and nods, grabbing a hold of Sizhui’s hands, and walks off.

Wei Wuxian chuckles as he watches Sizhui lead A-Yi away with JingYi in tow. He turns back to find Lan Zhan with a slight frown on his face.

“Why are you unhappy?” Wei Wuxian asks.

“Favorite.”

“Favorite?” Wei Wuxian repeats and bursts into giggles in realization. “Hanguang Jun. WangJi xiong. Lan-er gege. Lan Zhan. You don’t count; you’re my husband.” Wei Wuxian cups Lan Zhan’s face in his palms. “It’s obvious that you’re my ultimate favorite.” He gives Lan Zhan his usual bright smile and gently presses his lips against his. “So, don’t be mad, understood?”

“Mn.” Lan Zhan nods and Wei Wuxian giggles burying his face in Lan Zhan’s chest. 

**********

“Sizhui. You’re seriously gonna take care of that child?” Jingyi asks as they watch A-Yi run around with the bunnies in the open field.

“Jingyi, he’s a child and his father is here in Gusu. We have to help him find his father. Plus,” SiZhui points to JingYi and the child. “There’s a big A-Yi and a little A-Yi. You two should get along. It’s gonna be fun.”

Jingyi lets out a loud sigh. “What was his mother thinking leaving him alone?”

Just then, A-Yi stops in his tracks and looks at the two Lan men’s direction before running towards them. 

“I’m hungry.”

“This brat!”

“Jingyi.” SiZhui lightly hisses and chuckles. “It’ll almost be time for dinner, so please wait awhile.”

“Ok.” The child nods and returns to play while staring at the bunnies intently.

Soon they are called in for the long awaited lunch. A-Yi stare at the plates of food in front of him and does not move an inch.

“What’s wrong?” Sizhui asks. “Is it not to your liking?”

“Mother told me that Gusu Lan’s diet is very bland and rabbit like.” Wuxian bursts into tiny giggles at A-Yi’s statement. “She was not lying. Can I eat a rabbit instead?”

Wuxian is holding onto his stomach with one hand, as the other is lightly pounding the table, as he tries to contain his laughter. “No can do, child.”

“K—”

“Killing is forbidden in Cloud Recesses, I know.” A-Yi cuts Jingyi off. “I’ll take them out the gates and kill them, then bring them back inside to roast. That way, it’s not considered as killing inside Cloud Recesses.”

“You-!”

Wuxian could no longer hold in his laughter and laughed out loud. “First if all, A-Yi.” Wuxian wipes the tears from his eyes. “The rabbits are raised here not to eat, but to accompany people. Second, it belongs to Hanguang Jun.”

A-Yi pouts lifting the veggies with his chopsticks. “Mom is right. Rabbit food”. He puts it back onto the plate. “When I’m with mom, we always eat meat.”

“Why are you so picky?” Jingyi growls.

“Because I’m a kid.” A-Yi answers. 

“You—”

“Jingyi, you are in no position to lecture him. When you were young, all you wanted was chicken.” Sizhui says. “Remember?”

“W-what? N-no.” Jingyi denies. “N-No such thing happened.”

Sizhui chuckles with a shake of his head. “Of course you don’t remember. You never remember things that embarrass you.”

“Wha...t-that is not true!” 

“What’s wrong?” Wei Wuxian’s questions catches everyone’s attention.

“I wonder...if mom ate yet?” A-Yi mumbles poking his plate of vegetables. 

“Why would she not have eaten?” Jingyi asks.

“You don’t understand. When mom and I are together, mom gives me a lot of food, and she gets very little. She said I need to eat a lot to grow up and to not worry about it.”

“Then don’t worry about it.” Jingyi replies nonchalantly. “She’s an adult. She knows when she should eat. Besides, she needs to eat to have energy to nighthunt. There is no way she is starving herself.”

“Jingyi is right.” Sizhui smiles. “Your mom would be more worried if she knows you are worrying about her. You should eat so you’ll have more energy to play.”

With Sizhui’s comforting, A-Yi gives in and picks up a piece of vegetable with his chopsticks. He makes a reluctant face before sighing and putting it into his mouth. 

After dinner, A-Yi attempts to help clean up the dishes, but the Lan men refuse. 

“You’re a child. You should go and have fun.” Wei Wuxian says.

“I always help mom clear the dishes.”

“It’s ok. We’ll do it. You should go shower and prepare for bed. Jingyi will take you.”

“Hah? Why me?!” Sizhui throws him a look, making him sigh in defeat. “Fine. Follow me.”

Jingyi takes A-Yi to the bathing area. 

“You can bathe by yourself, right?” Jingyi asks full of doubt.

“Do I look like a kid to you?”

“You _are_ a kid!” Jingyi growls. “Let me help you after all.”

“I’m not a kid.”

“Stop struggling!” 

After 30 minutes of struggling and fighting, Jingyi leaves tired and worn out as A-Yi is pristine clean in an all white Gusu Lan outfit. 

“Are you ok?” Sizhui chuckles at the messy state that Jingyi is in.

“That brat struggled a lot. Where does he get all that energy from?”

“The food he ate, of course.”

“Don’t make me do that again.”

“He’s 5, Jingyi. He needs help bathing.”

“ _You_ do it next time.”

“Ok, I will.” Sizhui agrees without a fight. “But, let’s worry about that tomorrow.” He crouches in front of A-Yi. “For tonight, why don’t you sleep in the Yihua room.”

“Hey! How come he’s sleeping with me?” Jingyi asks.

Sizhui points to Jingyi, “big A-Yi,” then points to the child, “little A-Yi. You two should get along.”

“Why do we have to?!” Both A-Yi shouts at the same time.

“See? You two get along just fine.” Sizhui says walking into the bathing area. The two A-Yi look at each other and A-Yi elder lets out a sigh. 

“Follow me.” Jingyi leads A-Yi to a room the Yihua quarters and lays out the bedding. “This is my room. You should sleep first. I’ll be back after I bathe. Don’t do anything weird.”

“Define weird.”

“Just don’t touch anything.”

“Then I guess I can’t sleep.”

“Why not?”

“Cause I can’t touch anything. Sleeping consists of me touching and laying in the bedding you just laid out.”

“You--” Jingyi lets out a sigh. “Just go to sleep.”

**********

_“Sizhui.” the female calls out putting on her outer robes. “I’m pregnant.”_

Movement in the water brings Sizhui back to his senses. 

“Are you ok?” Jingyi asks.

Sizhui nods. “I’m fine.”

“That kid is such a brat.” Jingyi complains.

“Really? I think he acts a lot like you when we were young.” Sizhui chuckles. 

“I was not _that_ bratty.”

“You sure? You liked to question grandmaster Lan a lot and you break so many rules. You were always so excited, screaming, as you ran up and down the halls.”

“Why do you remember such stupid things?” Jingyi asks, making Sizhui chuckle yet again.

“Because I’m your best friend.” 

After the two Lan men finished bathing, they separated ways, heading to their own sleeping quarters.

“You’re back.” A-Yi says to Jingyi upon his return.

“You’re still awake? We have to sleep soon.”

“Mom was right. The Lan clan really does sleep at 9.”

“Your mom knows an awful lot about the Lan clan.”

“Mm. Mom was a student here. Can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“This is your personal sleeping quarters, right?”

“Yes.”

“You named it, correct?”

“Mm.”

“Why did you name it Yihua?”

“Go to sleep.” Jingyi avoids the question.

“Huh? I’m not part of the Lan Clan. I don’t sleep at nine, you know? Hey. Hey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may or may not have made Jingyi and Sizhui eat with Wangxian in a room apart from the other members of the Lan clan. *sips wine*


	3. Chapter 3

“Hey. Wake up.” Jingyi shakes A-Yi.

“Not yet, mommy.” A-Yi mumbles as he wraps the blanket tighter around himself.

“Wake up.” Jingyi pulls the blanket off of A-Yi. “It’s 5am. Time to wake up.”

“Why do I have to wake up at 5am? It’s so early.”

“It’s a Lan rule.”

“Who cares? I’m not a Lan, I’m a—”

“A what?” 

“I’ll get up.” A-Yi says following Jingyi to get washed up.

When breakfast came around at 7am, A-Yi was nodding off.

“Hey! Eat your food properly. We have to teach the juniors after this, you know? We don’t have time to babysit you.”

“I don’t need you to watch over me.”

“Are you ok?” Sizhui asks with a light chuckle at A-Yi’s constant nodding.

“I’m not used to this routine.” A-Yi says. ”I can’t believe you Lans really get up at 5am.”

“What time do you usually wake up?”

“It varies. Sometimes at 9am. Sometimes at 12pm. It depends on how late I stay up waiting for mom.”

“Can I ask you something?” 

“Yes, Sizhui shushu.” A-Yi mumbles in his half asleep state.

‘ _Shushu? Did he just call me uncle?’_

“A-Yi.” Sizhui starts. “How is your mother affiliated with the Lan clan?”

“Mother says she was a student here.”

“She was a student here? When?” Jingyi asks.

“How should I know? I was not born then.”

“You—”

“Jingyi, he’s a child.” Sizhui stops him.

A-Yi is more awake and looks around. “Where is...the one in black?”

“Wei qianbe?” Sizhui chuckles. “He doesn’t get up ‘til 9am.”

“He gets to sleep ‘til 9?! Then how come I have to wake up at 5?!”  
  
“He’s not a Lan. The rules...don’t quite apply to him. Though it should since he’s living here in Gusu.” Jingyi says with an irritated huff.

“But I’m not a Lan either.”

“Your father is a Lan, right? That means you’re a Lan descent. It would be a disgrace for a Lan descent to not follow the Lan rules.”

“Like you?”

“You—” 

“Jingyi.” 

“Besides, how are you guys so sure I’m of Lan descent? I could be lying for all you know.”

“You came to Gusu because you wanted to find your father, right?” Sizhui asks, making A-Yi go silent with a small pout evident on his lips. “Don’t worry. We’ll help you find him. Did your mother tell you anything about your father?”

“Not much.” A-Yi replies with a shake of his head. “Instead of finding my father, I’m more interested in finding my mother. I came to Gusu hoping that you guys can help me find my mom.Today is the 5th day my mother had been out night hunting and there is still no sign of her.”

“Maybe your mother left—”

“Left to do other errands.” Sizhui quickly cuts Jingyi off. “Your mother probably—”

“You don’t have to comfort me. I have trust in my mother. Excuse me.” A-Yi bows to Sizhui and Jingyi before walking off.

**********

A-Yi watch the rabbits run around.

“Something bothering you? Where are your babysitters?” Wuxian asks, sitting down next to A-Yi.

“They have to go teach the juniors or whatever they’re called.”

“Oh yeah. They have their own students now.” Wuxian chuckles. “I miss when they were younger. They used to go night hunting with me all the time. I taught them a lot of things.” Wuxian picks up a rabbit and rubs his nose against the rabbit’s own. “Now they’re all grown up.”

“Look, it’s Wei Wuxian. I don’t understand why he’s allowed to reside here in Gusu.”

“I heard he used to dig up people’s graves for human puppets.”

“How immoral. What a disgrace to Gusu Lan.”

“Ssh. If the elders hear you, we’re in trouble.” The Lan students warn each other before scrambling off.

“Does everyone treat you like that?”

Wuxian chuckles. “From time to time. It doesn’t really bother me.” He continues to pet the rabbits. “As long as Lan Zhan is on my side.”

_ “Mommy, how come I don't have a daddy?” A four year old A-Yi asks his mother. “I want a daddy! I want a daddy!” _

_ “You do have a daddy.” _

_ “Really?” _

_ “Of course. You know the 4000 rules I keep making you recite?” A-Yi nods. “They are rules of daddy’s sect. They’re a very famous clan.” _

_ “How come we don’t live with him?” _

_ “Mm,” the mother thinks for a while.  _

_ “Is it because I’m a bad child?” _

_ The mother chuckles. “It’s nothing like that.” _

_ “Then why?” A-Yi asks with a pout. “I want to see daddy. Take me to daddy. Take me to daddy.” _

_ “A-Yi, mommy can’t take you to daddy...because...I didn’t tell daddy about you.” _

_ “You..didn’t tell daddy about me?!” A-Yi cries and his mother nods making him go into a raging fit. “Take me to daddy! I want daddy.” _

_ “A-Yi, listen to mommy.” His mother tries to calm him down. _

_ “No! No! I want daddy! How could you take me away from my daddy?! I want a daddy!” A-Yi shouts running out of the residence. _

_ “A-Yi.” His mother shouts after him but is stopped by several people. _

_ A-Yi runs into the forest. “If mommy won’t take me to daddy, I’ll find daddy myself.” A-Yi continues to walk on. _

_ The moon is high up in the sky and A-Yi is lost. He does not know how deep in the forest he is, or where his exact location is.  _

_ “Mommy?” A-Yi calls for his mom. “Mommy, where are you?”  _

_ He hears rustling from behind him. _

_“Mommy!” he shouts happily expecting his mother, but is met with a beast. The beast had gold eyes with big fangs, short hair, sharp claws and it growled fiercely as it set its eyes on A-Yi. A-Yi loses strength in his legs and falls onto the ground. The beast lets out another growl and pouces at A-Yi. He_ _covers his eyes in fear, but the beast never landed on him. Instead, there was a loud thump to the side and another loud growl. A-Yi opens his eyes to see his mother under the beast._

_ “Mommy!”  _

_ “Run!” _

_ “But--” _

“ _Go! Now! I can’t protect you like this. Run!”_

_ “Mom!” _

_ “Go!” his mother shouts, as the beast bites down on her shoulder, and she screams in pain. _

“Mom!” 

A-Yi wakes up with a start, his breathing heavy, and his forehead soaked with sweat.

“You’re awake.”

“Sizhui gege. Mommy is in trouble!” A-Yi shouts with tears in his eyes. “We have to go save mommy! She is heavily injured!”

“It’s just a dream, A-Yi.” Sizhui tries to persuade A-Yi.

“No, No! Mommy must be injured! I have to go find mommy.”

“Well, lucky you. We’re going out night hunting.” Wuxian speaks up, making A-Yi’s eyes light up.

“Really?”

“Yep! And it’s close to where we found you too. Your mother should still be around there. So, if you can go get Jingyi—”

Before Wuxian can finish, A-Yi was already running towards Yihua.

“Jingyi! Jingyi.” A-Yi calls out but does not get an answer. He walks around the room to see a table full of random things from porcelain to lip tint paper. Above the table white cloth covering something against the wall. A-Yi reaches up, his fingers at the hem of the cloth, when a voice sounds out.

“Don’t touch that.” A-Yi retreats his hand. 

“Where were you? I was looking for you.”

“Why?”

“We’re going night hunting. Xian gege told me to come get you.”

“You’re going too?” Jingyi asks, making A-Yi nod. “You’ll be nothing but a burden.”

“Jingyi.” Sizhui’s voice rang out. 

“Fine. Whatever. You’ll be the one babysitting him.”

When everyone is ready to leave, they meet at the entrance gates. 

“We heard you guys are looking for a kid’s mother.” A new voice spoke out.

“Zizhen!” Sizhui says surprise. “What are you doing here?

“He’s not the only one here.” 

“Jin Ling!”

“What are you two doing here?”

“This is just like the old days.” Jin Ling says ignoring Jingyi. “Night hunting together.”

“You two are going too?” Sizhui asks. “What about your own sect?”

“I’m a sect leader. I can go night hunting alone if I want.”

“No. You’re supposed to watch over the sect.” Jingyi says.

“I’m a clan leader. My word is absolute. Not like they can stop me anyways.”

Zizhen chuckles. “So, where’s the child?”

A-Yi comes out from behind Sizhui’s leg.

“My name is A-Yi. I’m 5 years old. I’m looking for my mom.”

“Your mom? What about your dad? I heard that your dad is a Gusu disciple.” Jin Ling asks.

“My dad won’t leave his sect anyways. I can always find him. But my mother does not live with her clan. She has no one, nowhere to go, I have to find her.”

“Alright. Everyone’s here! Let’s go!” Wuxian says.

“What about Hanguang Jun?” Sizhui asks.

“He’s busy with paperwork.” Wuxian says with a small pout as he leads the way back to the town where A-Yi was found.

**********

“I’m tired.” A-Yi heaves out a sigh.

“Ok. Let’s camp here.” Wuxian says.

“In the middle of the woods?” Jin Ling asks.

“Of course. Or do you think we’ll find an inn close by?” Jingyi asks in return.

“Who’s fault is it that we didn’t stop at the last town?!” 

“It was full! What could we do?!”

“Why do the two of you have to always have to fight? Can we not do this?” ZiZhen lets out a sigh.

“Let’s not fight. Don’t forget that we have a child with us.” Sizhui tries to calm everyone down.

“More reason so to keep going to the next town!”

“Jin Ling, the child is tired. This is not ideal, but please bear with sleeping in the woods for the night.” Sizhui says with a gentle smile.

“Fine.” Jin Ling gives in with a huff.

“Why do you have to act like that everytime we night hunt?” Jingyi asks. “It’s not like we never slept in the woods before. Get used to it.”

“Maybe I don’t want to get used to it.”

“Ugh. Don’t start another fight, please.” Zizhen groans out.

“Alright, all of you. Be quiet.” Wuxian says. “We’re stuck here for the night, so no arguing. Remember, all of us can defend ourselves, but one of us can’t.” Wuxian points to a defenseless A-Yi. “We have to protect him.”

Jingyi and Jin Ling heave out a sigh. 

“I’ll go collect firewood then.” Sizhui says.

“I want to go with you,” A-Yu starts, then whispers shyly, “because I need to use the restroom.”

Sizhui chuckles. “Alright. Let’s go.”

A-Yi holds his hand and they walk off.

“Two of you should go look for food and one should help me build a hut.”

“Why do we need a hut?!” Jin Ling asks.

“For the child.” Wuxian answers.

Jingyi and Zizhen volunteers to go search for food as Jin Ling reluctantly helps Wuxian build a hut for A-Yi.

**********

“Sizhui gege. I really need to go now.” A-Yi says fidgeting back and forth.

“Alright. Don’t stray too far from me.” 

A-Yi runs into the opposite direction to relieve himself. Sizhui is picking up firewood when suddenly A-Yi screams out.

“Aaaahhh!” 

Sizhui drops of all the firewood he had picked up and ran towards A-Yi’s direction.

“A-Yi!” Sizhui shouts. “A-Yi. Are you ok?”

Sizhui approaches A-Yi who is crouched on the ground, a small beast about three feet tall, laying in front of him. Sizhui uses his sword to poke the beast, but it did not move. He got closer and touched the beast, feeling a warm, sticky substance. 

_‘It’s_ _still warm. The blood is still fresh. It was alive seconds before I got here.‘_

“A-Yi, did the beast attack you? How did it die? What happened?”

“I-it wasn’t me. It wasn’t me.” A-Yi says shaking his head and hand in sync.

“A-Yi, you’re bleeding. Let’s take care of your wound.” Sizhui says, pulling out a cloth to clean up the blood. He looks up at A-Yi with a smile and suddenly his vision blurs.

_ “A-Yuan, I’ll plant you in the soil so you can grow big and strong. Who knows? We might be able to grow you some siblings?” _

_ “Xian gege, will I really get some siblings?” _

_ “Of course!” Wuxian says and he continues to throw soil on A-Yuan. “Do you want brothers or sisters?” _

_ “I want a lot of brothers and sisters!” _

_ “W-Wei gongzi. W-what are you doing?” _

_ “Wen Ning gege! Xian gege says that I’ll grow big and strong. I want to be big and strong! He says I can get siblings too. I want siblings!” _

_ “A-Yuan. If you eat a lot, you’ll be big and strong soon. As for the siblings...” _

“—zhui. Sizhui!”

Sizhui is startled awake as the others called out to him. 

“Are you ok?” Zizhen asks.

“Was it an enemy?” Jingyi asks unsheathing his sword.

“If it was an enemy, Sizhui would be injured, right? He looks fine.” Jin Ling says giving Sizhui a check over.

“W-what happened?” Sizhui asks.

“That’s what we want to know. A-Yi ran to us saying that something’s wrong with you. When we arrived, you were laying here.” Wuxian explains. “What happened?”

“I was...”  _ What was I doing before? _

“So? What happened?”

“Ah. Nothing.” Sizhui shakes his head with a smile. “Sorry for making you all worry.” 

“It’s really nothing? You’re fine?” Jingyi asks.

Sizhui nods. “I’m fine.”

“Alright. Let’s get you to the resting area.”

**********

The fire was lit and Jingyi, along with Zizhen, found fruits and a wild boar for dinner. They all sat around the fire eating.

Sizhui is lost in thought.

Jin Ling pokes Sizhui to get his attention. “Sizhui, are you ok?” 

Sizhui smiles and nods. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not eating.”

“Ah.” Sizhui looks down at his food and chuckles, taking a small bite. “I’m eating.”

After dinner, A-Yi is sleeping in the hut, as the adults sleep outside on guard. Sizhui opens his eyes and looks at the others who are sound asleep. He slowly got up and walk away. He sits on a giant rock and looks up at the sky.

“What’s wrong?” A voice speaks up making him turn around.

“Jin Ling.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not ‘nothing’!” Jin Ling shouts sitting next to Sizhui. “I know something is bothering you.”

“I don’t want to trouble the rest of you.”

“You not saying anything is troubling me! Tell me. What’s wrong? A-Yuan, I’m worried about you, you know.”

“I know.” Sizhui says. “It’s just…I can’t remember.”

“Can’t remember what?”

“What I was doing before I lost consciousness.”

“You were with A-Yi.”

“I was with A-Yi?” SiZhui says a bit unsure.

“You don’t even remember that? You went to pick up firewood, and A-Yi went with you because he needed to use the restroom.”

“And then?”

“You two left. I don’t know the rest. I was busy helping Wei Wuxian build the hut for A-Yi.” Jin Ling let out a small gasp. “Do you think it was A-Yi who attacked you?”

Sizhui chuckles and shakes his head. “He’s a child. If he was going to attack me, I’d know beforehand. I’m an adult; my reflexes are faster.”

“Don’t think too much then.” Jin Ling says as his hand unconsciously reaches out to caress Sizhui’s cheek.

“A-Ling.”

“A-ah, I’m sorry!” Jin Ling stutters out with flushed cheeks. 

Sizhui lets out a light chuckle. “It’s alright.” He says as he grabs Jin Ling’s hand and brings it to his lips.

“W-what are you doing?! Out here! In the open!”

“We’re away from the others. Would you prefer I do it with the others watching?”

“You—ugh! You have the nerves to do that out here! You’re doing just fine!” Jin Ling says storming off.

“A-Ling!”

“What?!”

“I love you.”

“You..wha...I...this...I know!” 


End file.
